


A Shoulder to Lean On

by ScientistSalarian



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Banter, Bonding, F/F, First Kiss, Humor, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-05 23:44:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13398792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScientistSalarian/pseuds/ScientistSalarian
Summary: While Miranda is patching up Shepard after a particularly rough battle, the two of them finally address their growing feelings for one-another





	A Shoulder to Lean On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spookykingdomstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/gifts).



“Dammit,” Shepard hissed as Miranda applied some medi-gel to a particularly angry looking wound on Shepard’s neck.

 

“You know, you were a lot easier to patch up when you weren’t awake for it,” Miranda said as she shot Shepard a look. There was a softness in her voice that allowed for a sense of compassion to intermingle with her harsh words.

 

Shepard merely laughed and returned a wry smile to Miranda’s concerned expression. “So you can put a dead person back together but you can’t handle a bit of complaining?” There was something altogether playful about Shepard’s tone. Despite chiding her about it, Miranda did make an extra effort to be a bit gentler with applying the medi-gel to the slash across Shepard’s forehead.

 

“Just because I have the ability to put you back together doesn’t mean you should be so reckless,” Miranda warned her as she gently patted the area with a bit of gauze.

 

“Better for me to take the damage than you,” Shepard replied gruffly. 

 

Miranda was suddenly taken aback by the sentiment. There had been tension between them since the beginning of their time working together, but gradually Shepard appeared to be warming up to her. She had quite simply chalked it up to two colleagues not wanting to deal with a strained relationship on top of an already high stress situation but lately it seemed like maybe Shepard actually enjoyed her company. 

 

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Miranda said almost too quickly. 

 

Shepard turned to face her and her eyes darted from her face to the floor as she spoke. “I don’t have to, but I do.”

 

Miranda’s heart was racing and she bit her lip as she tried to suppress the emotions that Shepard’s words had brought forth. Before Miranda could say anything, Shepard gently placed her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “We’re a lot alike. We’ve both had to fight since we were young, we both have people we would do anything to protect, and we both have to deal with The Illusive Man climbing up our ass at every turn.” 

 

Covering her mouth with her hand, Miranda couldn’t help but laugh at Shepard’s blunt assessment of their situation. She shook her head and sighed. “That certainly is one way of looking at it.” She took a seat next to Shepard and spoke wistfully, “I am glad that you have my back, Shepard. I’m just not used to it is all.”

 

Shepard nodded and didn’t say anything more for a moment. All she could think about was how close Miranda was to her. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been thinking about the woman more and more with each passing day. At first it began as admiration for another capable woman in the battlefield, but lately it had turned into something deeper, more urgent. 

 

Miranda always kept such a cool head that she was tough for Shepard to read. She hesitated to make a move in the event that Miranda didn’t share her feelings. Now though, the two of them sat side by side in the ship’s med-bay with the rest of the crew asleep, she wondered if perhaps this was her chance.

 

Shepard turned towards Miranda and opened her mouth to speak. She couldn’t quite cobble together the words she so desperately wanted. She stood up and took a few steps to put some distance between them. In all her years of being alive, Shepard had never had this much trouble simply telling someone she was interested before. 

 

“What is it?” Miranda could tell there was something important on Shepard’s mind and she didn’t want her to leave before she could find out what it was.

 

Shepard clasped her hands and finally decided that it was worth taking the risk. If anything, maybe it would put to rest the thoughts of Miranda that seemed to be keeping her up more and more as each night passed. “I respect you a lot, Miranda. I know we got off to a bad start but that had a lot more to do with Cerberus than who you are as a person. I just, the more time I spend with you, the more I’m…” Shepard wasn’t entirely ready to be done rambling but she found herself stumbling over her words so she just trailed off.

 

There was a look in Miranda’s eyes that told Shepard that she wasn’t entirely off the mark with where she was leading. Miranda chose not to address Shepard’s words head on however. “When I put you back together, do you know how many details we agonized over? We had to recreate everything from the size of your toes, to your exact skin-tone to every single strand of hair.” She reached out and ran her fingers over a lock of Shepard’s red hair. It had been so long since she’d felt that hair against her fingertips. “They all thought I’d gone mad, you know? But I knew that if I was I was going to bring back the Commander Shepard, every single thing had to be perfect. Not just for the people who were counting on you, but for you. I thought about what it would feel like to be brought back to life as a slightly askew version of myself. That thought was horrifying the more it imagined it.” 

 

Shepard nodded, her green eyes looking up at Miranda with a sense of appreciation. Truth be told, she hadn’t really given pause to think about just what it would be like to be in imperfect version of oneself. Miranda continued to speak as Shepard pondered the alternatives to her current situation. “There were things we couldn’t possibly have known though. Little things, like the way you give that little half smile when you’re being sarcastic, or the way you lean against the wall, fold your arms, and raise your left eyebrow when Joker is telling a story that you know is complete bullshit.” 

 

“That would be most of his stories,” Shepard said with a grin and a roll of her eyes. 

 

“But those are the things that really make you, you. I could only take care of the cosmetic things, the rest...was just hoping you were still in there somewhere. I wondered though what it would be like after all that time and money spent, what would you actually be like? What if I ended up hating you?” 

 

“I’m assuming you don’t,” Shepard replied flirtatiously. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Miranda had so gently run her fingers through her hair. 

 

“Lucky for you, I don’t hate you. You get on my nerves sometimes when you decide to jump into a fight head first,” she allowed her eyes to linger over Shepard’s latest battlescars for a few moments. “But like you said, we have a lot in common, Shepard. I just won’t stand to let my face get as banged up as yours.” She said the words in a teasing tone that finally gave Shepard the confidence to be a little less guarded.

 

“Hey now! Those scars are fading! Besides, I’d just be too irresistible if I didn’t let myself get a bit roughed up in battle now and then.” She took a step towards Miranda, hoping that her smugness would elicit some sort of reaction. 

 

“Is that so?” Miranda tucked a strand of Shepard’s hair behind her ear and let her hand trail down the curve of her neck. “You’re telling me the only thing stopping someone from falling for you is a couple of scars?”

 

“You tell me, Miranda,” Shepard said as she let her arms encircle Miranda’s waist. 

 

“Falling for you might be a bit of a stretch. We haven’t even gone to dinner yet.” She was enjoying teasing the Commander. For someone who never seemed phased by anything, it was kind of fun to throw her a bit off balance.

 

“Are you asking me on a date, Miranda?” Shepard pretended to be surprised by her forwardness.

 

“Only because I was tired of waiting for you to do it,” Miranda retorted. 

 

“Well then, I should apologize for keeping you waiting,” Shepard didn’t put another moment’s thought into it, she simply cupped Miranda’s face in her hands and kissed her softly. 

 

Of all the thoughts plaguing Shepard’s mind, the idea of kissing Miranda had absolutely consumed her. She closed her eyes and revelled in the feeling of Miranda’s soft lips against her own. She pulled Miranda in so their bodies were pressed against one another. Miranda’s hands explored Shepard’s back as they kissed more passionately. Shepard loved the way Miranda’s hands caressed her, gently squeezing as they ran across her shoulders. 

 

Finally they broke off their kiss and the two of them stood wrapped in each other’s arms. Miranda looked at Shepard and squeezed her arm for a moment. “I’m trusting you,  Shepard. I don’t usually let people get this close.” She hated that she felt she needed to say it but it had been ages since she’d felt this way about someone.

 

“I’m here for you, Miranda. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.” The two of them sat back down on the med table where Miranda had treated Shepard just a little while ago. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’ll always want to kiss me like that.”

 

Miranda sat down next to her and placed her hand on top of Shepard’s. Shepard simply rested her head against Miranda’s shoulder. They sat there like that for a long time, just enjoying the moment of respite from all that they’d endured in the past month. No matter what happened with the Collectors, the Reapers or even with Cerberus, they both knew that they had someone to lean on. 

 

“At least now I know I have leverage over you if I need to stop you from doing something reckless,” Miranda mused.

 

Shepard simply answered, “You’re damn right you do.”


End file.
